About this project

$15,720

pledged of $7,500 goal

660

backers

What Is The Mason-ry Koozie?

The Mason-ry koozie is the first Silicone koozie designed from the ground up to perfectly fit a wide mouth pint jar. Whether it is drinking your morning coffee, your afternoon beer, or your evening cocktail, our koozies provide the best way to insulate your hot or cold beverage. At Mason-ry we were fed up with disposable coffee cups and oil and animal skin based koozies. So, we did something about it and created the koozie we wish we had.

Where We Are Today

We have spent the past six months designing, refining and prototyping the Mason-ry koozie. We now have the final design, a prototype that we are in love with and a manufacturer who is ready to start a production run. We are looking to Kickstarter to help us bring the first premium Silicone mason jar koozie to you!

i. Conception

After coming home from the 2013 Eugene Startup Weekend, Eric was motivated to move forward on his idea for a custom fit koozie for a mason jar. The goal was to create a koozie that looked great, felt great, and above all, promoted the use of safe and eco-friendly glass mason jars. Moreover, he aimed to appeal to not just the yarn, or leather koozie crowd, but everyone.

ii. Prototyping

With that in mind, the goal was not just to create a great koozie, but the PERFECT koozie. Eric worked with local product designer, Alex Caves to invent the ideal koozie. From the start, we identified our unique lip that sits over the lip of the mason jar just below the threads as the key to the perfect koozie:

Then we used 3D modeling to create a digital model of the koozie:

Next we used scale photographs to determine the profile of a mason jar to the nearest 1/100 of an inch. Then we used 3D printing to make sure the final version would feel great in the hand:

iii. The Result

Our manufacturing partner produced samples in 3 colors for us. They look and feel perfect. We can drink hot coffee or cold beer out of our mason jars and then toss them in the dishwasher. It is a dream come true to see our vision in real life:

iv. Material Choice - Why Silicone?

Simply put, Silicone is the only premium material for an eco-conscious koozie. No animal hides or petroleum products here. Just plentiful and easily sourced elements.

Silicone can withstand temperatures from below-zero to over 400ºF, is non-toxic and contains no BPA. It can be microwaved. It can be dishwashed. It can be dropped. It can be baked in the oven. It can be thrown off a tall building or from a moving car (although you may have to replace the mason jar inside).

Part of being eco-friendly is reducing the need for replacement, and by using Silicone, we ensure that our koozie will last a lifetime (well maybe not that long, but yes, a really long time).

And Now For Where You Come In

We are looking for $7,500 to help us bring the Mason-ry koozie from prototype to product. In return for your support, you will receive a first run premium Mason-ry Silicone koozie and a custom Mason-ry logo temporary tattoo from the awesome folks at Tattly.com. We really appreciate your help and look forward to revolutionizing the mason jar koozie.

UPDATE: We are thrilled that we met our stretch goal of $10k and can offer the option of a smooth sided koozie. This design will feature a smaller logo on the bottom (shipping will be a month longer for this design because we need to create a new mold). Additionally, we have partnered with EcoJarz to bring you an awesome lid. The lid shown below can be yours by adding $6 to any pledge level. Note- at the end of our funding period, we will collect all color/lid requests via a survey.

UPDATE: If we reach our stretch goal of $13k we will bring you an additional color option. Vote for your dream koozie color HERE

Best,

Eric and Nicole

Risks and challenges

At Mason-ry we know that it takes the right team to launch a product. We worked hard to set up everything from manufactures, to packaging partners (http://www.exceedpdx.com/ who do great things, check 'em out), to fulfillment (Fulfillment by Amazon) to make sure we can deliver without a hitch. However, we have enough real world experience to know that problems may arise. This is why we have assembled a high quality team of advisers to help Mason-ry at every step of the way.

Manufacturing:
The prototyping phase is complete and we know we have the ideal koozie. In order to make sure that production goes off without a hitch, we have partnered with a manufacturer who makes hundreds of Silicone parts and comes highly recommended. We already have samples and can see that they do great work.

Additionally, we can count on Mike Hurrowitz, a skilled engineer from Boulder, Colorado to step in and help us should any issues arise during manufacturing. He has worked with 7 different startups as a founder or early employee. In doing so, he sent out over 100 unique parts for manufacture. With him as an adviser, we can fix any problems that crop up.

Fulfillment
We also have Karen Bonner as an adviser. She is a founder of Red Duck Foods who launched a kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1309695875/red-duck-ketchup) which was successful funded on May 31, 2013. She successfully shipped ketchup to 599 backers. Compared to shipping glass jars of ketchup, shipping Silicone koozies is nothing!

We have the gears and know how in place. The only missing part is your support!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $8 or more
About $8

Early bird special!
You will receive one Mason-ry koozie in your choice of green, black, or purple! You'll also get 1 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoo and we'll put your name on our website to show our appreciation for your support!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $9 or more
About $9

You will receive one Mason-ry koozie in your choice of green, black, or purple! You'll also get 1 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoo and we'll put your name on our website to show our appreciation for your support!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $18 or more
About $18

$18 or more:
You will receive TWO Mason-ry koozies in purple, black, or green because drinking is always more fun with a friend! You'll also get 2 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoos. And don't worry, we'll still put your name on our website to show our appreciation for your support!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $26 or more
About $26

You will receive 3 Mason-ry koozies. One each in purple, black, and green. It is like a rainbow. You'll also get 3 limited-edition Mason-ry temporary tattoos. Of course, we'll still put your name on our website to show our appreciation for your support!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $51 or more
About $51

You will receive SIX Mason-ry koozies in your choice of purple, black, or green. Now you can have a formal dinner with Mason-ry. You'll also get 6 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoos and we'll put your picture on our website (if you want...)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $85 or more
About $85

You will receive TEN Mason-ry koozies in your choice of purple, black, or green. Be the hero of the family reunion or tailgate party. You'll also get 10 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoos and we'll put your picture on our website (if you want...)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

You will receive 10 Mason-ry koozies with custom stamped cutouts of your choice in your choice of color. Plus, you will receive 10 limited-edition Mason-ry tattoos and we'll put your picture on our website (if you want...) Perfect for the startup who has it all.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

This is the ultimate backer reward. We will work with you to produce 10 koozies with a custom logo molded into the silicone koozie! That means, no Mason-ry logo, just whatever design (up to 3"x 3") you want in all its glory. Thereafter you can order as many of those custom koozies as you want.